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Bacon – just the mere mention of it is enough to make me drool. I love bacon probably a little more than I should, although probably not as much as my husband. Try as I might (and I’ve tried twice), I just can’t eat this sandwich whereas he can clean his plate and still ask for more.
(The BLT with over a pound of bacon from Tony’s Restaurant in Birch Run, MI)
Sorry about that, I didn’t mean to veer off course there. Anyhow, as I was saying, because bacon is a favorite in our house, it makes a fairly regular appearance on our table. We don’t go crazy with it and keep our proportions in check, 1 pound BLTs aside. Typically I buy a 3 pound package and that will last us the month. That’s the good thing with bacon – sometimes, a little goes a long way flavor wise!
So I definitely have had my fair share of bacon cooking experience. I have a few tricks I use that I thought I’d share, just in case bacon doesn’t constitute its own food group in your house.
- Whenever a recipe calls “cooked and crumbled” bacon, pay no attention to the order of those words! “Crumble” the bacon first by cutting it into small pieces and cooking it in a skillet over medium heat. Stir frequently and cook until the pieces are all to your liking.
- To go along with tip #1 – use kitchen shears for dicing the bacon. It’s so easy and you can cut through a pound of bacon in less than 5 minutes. If you don’t have kitchen shears but want the same ease of cutting, freeze the bacon for about 15-20 minutes first and a sharp knife will slide right through.
- One more tip to go along with #1 – line a bowl with a double layer of coffee filters. Remove the cooked bacon pieces with a slotted spoon and place in the bowl. Stir a time or two so that the coffee filters absorb all the grease.
- When I want sliced bacon, I prefer to bake it in the oven. That hands-off method makes it so easy. But the problem is that the pans I use to bake the bacon in are tough to get clean. I never like to bake cookies on a cookie sheet I’ve used for bacon. So I decided to relegate one cookie sheet that I use just for bacon. It is definitely well-seasoned now, but it keeps me from ruining any of my other cookie sheets.
So, just a few quick tips for you today. I’m counting on you to share a few more of your favorite bacon tips though. And if anyone else wants to make a bacon-loving confession, I’m here for you and I promise not to judge!